§985.1. Thirty-First Judicial District; indigent transcript fund; reporter's fees

A.(1) The court administrator or the district judge for the Thirty-First Judicial District Court shall establish an indigent transcript fund for the deposit of all monies that may be received under the provisions of this Section relative to the payment of court reporter fees for transcripts prepared for indigents or salaries, except as provided in this Subsection.

(2) All funds received and deposited therein shall be used and paid out:

(a) To compensate criminal court reporters for the preparation of all transcripts for indigent defendants, including trials, motions, hearings on writs, and all court proceedings.

(b) To compensate juvenile court reporters for the preparation of all transcripts arising from juvenile proceedings in Jefferson Davis Parish when the juvenile's parent or legal custodian or the adult, over whom the court may exercise juvenile jurisdiction, is found to be indigent in accordance with Children's Code Articles 320 and 321.

(c) To compensate court reporters appointed in accordance with R.S. 13:985 for salaries or any portion thereof.

(3) If funds are available at the end of the fiscal year, the court administrator may retain two thousand dollars from the fund as compensation for administration of the fund.

B. Court reporters shall be paid two dollars and fifty cents per thirty-one-line page for such work, and twenty-five cents per page for each copy, as funds become available, all such payments to be made from the criminal indigent transcript fund by the court administrator or the district judge.

C. In all criminal cases over which the court has original, appellate, supervisory, or concurrent jurisdiction, including traffic violations, except parking, there shall be assessed as costs against every defendant who is convicted after trial or after a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or who forfeits his bond, the sum of five dollars, which shall be transmitted to the court administrator or the district judge for further disposition in accordance herewith.

D. The court administrator or the district judge shall cause to be conducted annually an audit of the fund and the books and accounts relating thereto in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 24:513. The cost of the audit shall be paid from monies in the fund.

Acts 1999, No. 1230, §1; Acts 2008, No. 521, §1.